Dance workouts

[dancin4christ]

Ok guys and gals... I am looking for some help. I am a dancer hoping to someday go to college to get a degree so I can teach dance. I am getting really serious about it, but I'm getting discouraged because I stopped dance for a few years when I was around 10 and I lost most of my flexibility. I've been trying to get it back but it is really really really slow going. I was wondering if any of you other dancers out there had any stretches or tricks that could help?

Thanks!
dancin4christ

 

[bellasprite]

I would recommend you take a yoga class. It really helped me when I got injured and needed to regain flexibility. You should also stretch each day for like fifteen minutes or so. It will help you start to regain the flexibility you have lost. Some good stretchs are butterfly, splits(both legs and middle), and hamstring. If you did ballet, work your way through the five basic positions with plies and tendus.

 

[BarryPentz]

Ok guys and gals... I am looking for some help. I am a dancer hoping to someday go to college to get a degree so I can teach dance. I am getting really serious about it, but I'm getting discouraged because I stopped dance for a few years when I was around 10 and I lost most of my flexibility. I've been trying to get it back but it is really really really slow going. I was wondering if any of you other dancers out there had any stretches or tricks that could help?

Thanks!
dancin4christ

Lol the some relly good dance exercise is dance dance revolution xD

 

[yourstrulyjulie]

Lol the some relly good dance exercise is dance dance revolution xD

I agree with that lol. There's even a workout mode

 

[Multi-Elis]

My perscription: Take dance classes. You need the flexibility of ballet? Do ballet classes. And extra doses of the seretching exercises that you do in your dance classes.
Here are a few things: try staying 1 minute in each position.
When stretching, use your breathing to help you stretch better. Use your imagination to imagine that you are gracefully stretching further than you actually are. Don't block yourself where you can't stretch any more, but rather imagine in your head that you are continuing the movement. It works like magic after 3 times.

Find exercises that put you in an otherwise comfortable position and use gravity to stretch you. This is called passive stretching. Like lying on you back, bottom against a wall and opening your legs on the wall. Let you legs fall into a split. Stay at least 5 minutes. Put music to help. There are many variations, like folding up your legs and resting your feet on the wall, or lying down on you back with your legs like a frog, or on your belly like a frog.

If it's ballet that you are doing, or even if you aren't but you are taking bellasprite's advice about the 5 positions, be sure to "retroverse" your pelvis, that is to make your pubic bone try to touch your belly button. This is the basics for ballet and modern dance that many ignore.

 

[kopilo]

I find at least for the legs a 15 second hold is optimun, personally I would go and ask a physiotherapist about it.

 

[ForeverDancing]

Maybe u could do the splits every day (even if u can't do them all the way down) and create a streching routine 2 do everyday. Something like splits, then backbends, then hamstring streches, so on and end up doing the splits again in the end. I hope u might take this advice and maybe it will work 4 u.